Death Will Never Conquer
by tomhiddlest0ner
Summary: When the outbreak occurred, Glenn Rhee retreated right back to his apartment and sat to wait for help. Help came, just not in the form he thought it would - no, instead, some brunette woman wearing his shirt decided to make Glenn her good deed for the day. But Riley's not so bad, and Glenn decides that maybe, she was worth leaving his apartment for. Glenn/OC, begins pre-season one!


**A/N: Hey! Welcome to my new story, a Glenn/OFC story. Eventually, the two will meet up with Shane's group at the quarry, but for a few chapters, it's just the two of them. Please give a review if you have and comments/questions/compliments/helpful criticism. Thanks for coming by to give it a read and I hope you all enjoy! xx**

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><p>chapter one: aretha franklin meets rambo<p>

**x xx x xx x**

He hadn't left his apartment in weeks.

Well, days, more likely, but Glenn wasn't sure anymore - he'd lost most of his sense of time, being holed up in the small building while the rest of Atlanta shuffled around as the un-dead beneath him. Everything had happened so fast, and Glenn had been at work the day that they'd tried to evacuate the city. By the time he'd rushed home, the city had fallen victim to the zombie-like creatures that were biting, chewing and gnawing their way into America's hearts. The male had been thinking of attempting an escape from the city, but if Glenn was honest, he was more likely to live staying in his apartment.

He'd spent the weeks leading up to the ultimate downfall of the world watching the news-reports - they'd been all over T.V., every channel having emergency broadcasts to tell people to get the _hell _out of Dodge. It was too late, though. Everything and everyone that Glenn knew was gone, and he was honestly horribly numb to the fact. But he missed normal life, too... he missed the sunlight on his skin, the breeze, the shitty stench of certain parts of the city, even. He just wanted to be _outside, _but Glenn knew he had neither the weapons nor the natural brawn to defend himself against _one _of those things let alone a bunch of them.

Sometimes, he wished being a pizza boy offered more skills than a scooter-riding licence. Nevertheless, this was his situation, and he tried to make the best of it. But he missed a lot more than being outside - he missed music and movies and gaming, he _desperately _missed Korean food since living off baked beans. God, a few weeks in to the apocalypse and Glenn was already weak as anything, and he was desperately hoping that Special Forces or _something _would do something about the situation soon. He wasn't sure how long a simple locked door and kitchen table would hold against those zombie creatures, although he hadn't actually _heard _their low growls and grumbles for a few days. Perhaps they'd moved on to bigger, better prey.

The thought made him a little queasy, Glenn shaking the thought from his mind. He didn't like to think about all the people he'd known that were down there - his boss and coworkers, the people he'd been to school and graduated with, people he'd passed in the streets... real people with real lives that were definitely a little bit shittier than his at the moment though, technically, they were all dead. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes and then his temples. He was growing restless - and how much longer could Glenn spend living in his tiny, run-down apartment with no food? He wondered if he'd even make it on his own out there, but didn't like to think about it too much.

Thus far, he'd been pretty safe. The young man hadn't actually _had _to kill any of the zombie-like creatures just yet, but he was sure his time was to come soon enough.

He couldn't stay here forever, despite how he'd much rather avoid the creatures outside. He'd listened to them growl at his door, listened to them bang against the wood practically begging for his insides. Basically, he was trapped between a rock and a _very hard _place, and he had no freaking idea how to get away.

Moseying around his apartment wasn't absolutely terrible, he supposed, but there was only _so much _Glenn could do to entertain himself before he felt the urge - the need - to leave. He felt antsy and anxious, and the more cans of food he ate, the more worried he got about the slowly diminishing food source. He found himself thinking that an escape plan was necessary, but even that thought made him angry. No weapons, no car, almost no food... he was a tragic excuse for a _survivor._

Glenn huffed irritably, heading to his kitchen where he'd sat out all the edible food on a counter. Eight cans of baked beans (why?), three cans of chicken soup, one can of tomato soup and a few boxes of biscuits. _That _was all he had left? After only a week of the un-dead walking around? He might need to leave sooner than he'd wanted, but Glenn tried not to worry about it. He'd think about... well, _that, _when it happened. He wasn't in the business on focusing on his impending doom in the little moments he had to be alive. Or, as alive as he could be, holed up in his little apartment, the last thing expected being a knock at his door.

Yet, there it was.

Was he imagining it? Surely so. Glenn frowned, falling quiet with his singing. Aretha Franklin could wait.

"_Are you in there?_" came a soft voice, and if Glenn was surprised before, he was downright shocked now. The dead couldn't talk - at least, he didn't think they could. He hadn't exactly paid much mind to them, but the last thing he'd expected was the walking corpses to start having conversations. The male remained standing, frozen as he was unsure of what to do. "_Come on, Aretha, I just heard you seconds ago!_"

Considering the situation, Glenn decided not to laugh at the fact that whoever - a woman, he thought - was on the other side of his door had called him 'Aretha'. Perhaps his rendition of _RESPECT _wasn't as pitiful as he'd thought. Chewing on the inside of his cheek, he padded through his apartment over to the front door, deciding to peer through the peephole. He wasn't expecting - well, he wasn't sure _what _he was expecting, but it wasn't who he saw.

He recognized the girl as the neighbor from just a few doors down. Riley, he thought her name was, and Glenn wouldn't lie, he'd caught himself checking her out a few times despite himself. She was a lean woman, quite short for her age of mid-twenties. He was a little taken aback at the sight of her, leaning so casually against his door-way like there were no dead people outside trying to eat her insides. Her arms were folded across her chest, hair pulled back into a tight ponytail that flowed to perhaps the middle of her back. Glenn swallowed, struggling to find words. "What do you want?" he asked, and her eyes flew open wide at the sound of his voice, like she hadn't expected him to respond.

"I'm here to _save _you!" she laughed, cocking an eyebrow as she stared at the peephole.

"Save me?" Glenn asked, bewildered.

"Just open the door, idiot!" the woman ordered, Glenn hesitating before doing as he was told. The air in the hallway was putrid and stank like the dead, hitting Glenn hard. He stumbled back, covering his nose before he slammed the door behind Riley, not before seeing the tonnes of rotting corpses piled up along the hall. So _that's _why the banging and moaning had ceased over the past few days. Riley merely gave a snort at his complete distaste at the stench, having grown used to it, herself. She was wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a t-shirt that Glenn recognized, the male blinking in surprise.

"That's my shirt," Glenn said, examining the white t-shirt. Ironically enough, there was a gruesome cartoon of a green-skinned, rotting zombie. Glenn had bought the neat, white-cotton shirt online once upon a time - he'd once been quite enthralled by all things zombie; games, books, movies, comics... they were cool! Not anymore, but still, Glenn found himself frowning at the sight even further. The girl laughed._  
><em>

"Not anymore. You left it downstairs in the laundromat, and I needed clothes."

"Don't you _own _clothes of your own?" the young male asked, cocking a brow at the brunette, who gave a tiny snort at the question. Rethinking his question, Glenn realized he'd never actually seen the woman in anything slightly comfortable looking. Every time she'd strut past his apartment on her way to the elevator, she was decked out in heels and pretty dresses. He wondered if she owned anything _normal._

"I don't take what I don't need," was her short response. Apparently, no, she didn't own anything comfortable. Glenn huffed slightly, but allowed himself to admit that it looked a little better on Riley than it did on him. "You know who I am, right? Riley, from down the hall?" she asked suddenly, as though he hadn't noticed _her. _Glenn gave a shrug.

"Yeah. Do you know who _I _am?"

"Glenn. You deliver pizzas."

He blinked. He'd always thought the woman had never noticed him, but apparently not. He didn't question where she'd gotten the information from, deciding he didn't quite care. At least she knew his name - he was kind of awkward with introducing himself. Riley sauntered happily into the male's apartment, standing in the center of his tiny living room. She glanced around before looking back at him. "So here's the deal," she started, suddenly becoming serious. "I've killed all the zombies on this floor over the past couple days, and I've gathered some supplies from other people's apartments." Glenn ignored the fact that, technically, she'd admitted to stealing, instead nodding his head. "And, well, they're getting much worse. The whole city has been turned into the walking dead, so I'm thinking we need to get the hell out of here."

It sounded simple enough, but Glenn knew it wasn't. Getting out of the city, he knew, was going to be a right pain in his ass, but perhaps having some back up wouldn't be too terrible. He nodded again, and Riley smiled. "Great," she said, whirling around. "You'll need to pack all of your essentials - anything that will help us survive. What weapons do you have?"

"Weapons?" Glenn asked dumbly. "None."

The woman rose a brow, perplexed. "Have you... killed any?"

"...No."

Groaning, Riley ran her hands through her hair, but suddenly stood up straight again. "It's okay," she nodded. "I'll teach you as we go, it's not hard. I've got weapons you can use until we find more." God, what the hell had she been doing the past week? Glenn suddenly felt a little unorganized, because Riley seemed to have literally everything planned out.

Glenn stood silent for a moment, staring at the woman hesitantly. "Why'd you come to save me?" he asked, and she raised her eyebrows.

"We're awfully lacking in _humans _now-a-days, I'd like to save as many as I can. Get your shit, let's go."

**x xx x xx x**

Riley had been right about how much worse things were getting - heading down the stairs, heavy packs on their backs and weapons in hand, Glenn was shocked to see _just _how many zombies his apartment building had been housing. There were tonnes on each floor slamming on the doors leading to the stairwell, but neither Riley nor Glenn were prepared to stop for a chat or an un-dead massacre. When Riley shoved open the door to the lobby, there were far less of the un-dead than Glenn had thought. Still, three was three more than Glenn was comfortable with, and he glanced at the brunette beside him with wide eyes. Riley simply smiled, reaching to her side where a machete sheath sat on her hip. She withdrew the weapon, revealing... a kitchen knife?

Glenn blinked. "Are you kidding?"

A look of offence crossed the woman's face, her eyebrow raising. The walkers ambled over slowly, but Riley paid no mind - they'd be simple to take out. One was legless, and the other two had been gnawing on something Riley didn't know about in the far corner. Just when he could have sworn she'd take the knife and kill _him _with it, she gave an un-lady like snort of laughter and rolled her eyes. "_What, _can you use a gun?" she asked, and Glenn reluctantly took the knife with a sigh. "It's a good knife," the woman said defensively. "Plus, you're only gonna go get ol' uncle Lester over there."

The man almost laughed at the uncle Lester thing, finding the resemblance quite uncanny. He decided against it at the realization that 'Lester' had once been the janitor. He'd _known _this person, and now... well, now he was finding it hard to try and gnaw on Glenn's flesh, two gory stumps kicking uselessly against the floor as his rotting hands grasped at the carpet. Glenn chewed on the inside of his cheek, watching as Riley pulled a crowbar from the side of her pack. "Stay here," she ordered in a tone that told Glenn _not _to fuck around - and he wouldn't. He was more than sure she'd have it covered.

And, well, she did. She moved quickly, walking up to the zombies like they were nothing. Taking the crowbar, Riley swung down hard on the dead man's head, Glenn wincing at the impact - he'd never seen _anyone _hit a person like that in his life, it was slightly sickening, watching as the woman struggled to pull the weapon out again. She cussed rather loudly, letting go of the crowbar and kicking the walker to the ground. A sickening _crunch _sounded through the almost empty lobby as the crowbar hit at an awkward angle, finally releasing - but spilling brain matter over the floor.

He couldn't help it, he gagged, covering his mouth as he turned away. Riley, however, was not phased. She grabbed another sheathed knife from her pocket, but it was a simple little hand-sized hunting knife. Perhaps she'd picked it up from Bill down the hall, who actively informed Glenn weekly, and rather avidly, about his fishing trips. He didn't so much mind hearing about the trips, but hearing about what Bill _did _to the fish? Freaking _gross, _though he guessed that it was a lot better than what Riley was doing. The brunette reached up and grabbed the zombie by the neck, tugging it close enough to drive the knife deep into it's temple. Just like that, the creature slumped to the floor at Riley's feet. It hadn't even been able to lay a hand on her. "Fuckin' _Rambo,_" he muttered bitterly.

There was no fucking way Glenn could do that.

He'd been biting so hard on his lip, the male could taste blood. Wincing, Glenn looked from Riley (who was beckoning him over) to the zombie, shaking his head. "No way," he said. "I can't do that shit. I'm going back upstairs."

Riley snorted. "May as well just let it kill you now, then."

A frown crossed the male's face. She was right, but did she have to be so... insensitive? He huffed, marching over to the woman who was retrieving her knife and crossbow, wiping each of the weapons on the shirt's of the dead men. "So just stab it in the head?" he asked, slightly reluctantly. Riley nodded, and he was a little surprised she didn't guffaw nastily at him - she was so sarcastic, he'd kind of expected it. He was almost thankful for her not mocking him.

"Here, I'll show you the best way to hold the knife." She stepped over to him, taking the knife and re-positioning it in his hands. "And go for the temple or the ear," she advised. "The top of the skull is a little too thick for that." Glenn nodded, swallowing thickly. He didn't like the idea of killing the thing before him at all, yet he knew he had to. But how close had he ever come to killing a real zombie? On his computer or PlayStation, surely. He'd never even been in a _fight _before.

Hesitantly, he stepped over to the janitor. The thing growled and reached for him, and Glenn had to remind himself a few times that he _had _to do it. It wanted to kill him! It would, if he didn't hurry up. He imagined the scene, his screaming drawing every zombie in the area as it gnawed on his leg or something. He shook the image away violently, leaning down and grabbing the zombie's head quickly to allow access to the temple. Before the thing could wrap it's cold, dead hands around Glenn's wrist, he used all the strength he could muster to stab the creature in the temple.

The growling ceased, and Glenn didn't take his time rushing away from it. Riley watched him, giving a small smile. "Hey, you should have seen my first kill... it was pretty pathetic."

There was a moment of silence as he looked at her while cleaning the knife, and after a moment, Glenn raised a brow. "...Are you going to tell me about it?" he asked, and Riley gave him a look of amusement.

"No," she responded, Glenn watching as she grabbed one of the backpacks she was carrying. "Wanna hear my cool plan to get us out of here, though?"

"Hit me," Glenn responded, rolling his eyes slightly as she pulled out a remote control car and a tiny remote, beaming at him.

"I'm gonna distract them with this, they're so fuckin' dumb. We can just sneak right out the door. There are like twelve of them just... waiting to be buzzed in." She snorted at her own joke before Glenn cleared his throat.

"How are you planning on getting the car outside?" he asked, and her face fell as she cussed loudly again. She dropped the remote on the carpet, reaching up to rub her temples, frustrated.

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe-"

"Do you have rope?" Glenn interrupted, and she glanced up and gave a nod before digging into her bag again. "Tie it to the car, I'll go lower it out of the stairwell window."

"You'll have to break it, it doesn't open," she murmured, but she handed him the rope and gave a smile. "There's no one in the stairwell, so don't worry about noise."

Glenn nodded, taking the rope from her as well as the crowbar before turning, heading back through the lobby door. Riley couldn't help but be glad she'd decided to knock on his door on her way out - if she was honest, part of her had debated leaving him. The way he sat in there wailing Aretha was enough for her to think that he'd be a terrible zombie apocalypse partner, but she found her conscience couldn't handle having his eventual death on her mind, she'd end up going crazy. Plus... the apocalypse would just be boring without company, and Glenn had seemed like the least creepiest of her choices. Eventually, he'd also been the only choice she had.

Riley heard the smash of the window a few minutes later, heading over to stand on the chairs and peek out the window, the controller in her hands. The moment it touched the ground, the zombies began to part with the door, the banging and moaning slowly dying down as they all began to shuffle toward the car. Riley grinned, inching the car away slowly as they began to reach it. She had to admit, it was kind of funny to watch them go crazy and struggle to crab the toy. When Glenn returned to the lobby, he joined her in watching the zombies and the car, Riley chuckling. "Go open the door," she told him, the male doing as he was told.

"That was all there was?" he asked, curious. Riley nodded. "There were hundreds out there the other day."

"You don't hear the gunshots at night?" the brunette asked him quietly, and he shook his head. _He _actually slept at night. "Oh. I've heard groups of people trying to get away over the past few days, they're obviously... not too smart about it. I think they keep trying on foot and guns aren't helpful. Two nights ago, there were a hell of a lot of people... they drew just 'bout every zombie in the city a few blocks away. So we have to keep quiet, no guns." The male nodded, shocked. She'd listened to that, heard their screams? He was suddenly thankful he was a heavy sleeper, and far too cranky when tired to ignore the need to sleep. Or perhaps, he realized, she _couldn't _sleep. He wasn't sure he'd be able to after killing those creatures.

The pair headed over to the lobby door, Riley hesitating at the gate. "Are you alright to use the crowbar?" she asked, and Glenn looked at the thing in his hands before giving a nod. "We mightn't need to, my car... it's not a full tank, but it'll get us far enough."

Riley reached for the gate lock, but hesitated once again. Was she scared? Glenn couldn't help but wonder. Chewing on her bottom lip, Riley looked at him, clearly worried. She wouldn't even bother trying to hide it, she was terrified. She hadn't left their shitty apartment block before - hell, she'd barely left her floor except to suss out the situation in the lobby and clear the stairwell. The idea of being out there... with all those _creatures_ that wanted to kill her? It terrified her right down to the bone, but she knew she was strong enough to make it so long as she and Glenn were _tactical _about getting to her car and getting the _h__ell _out of Atlanta. She drew in a deep breath, Glenn doing the same. "You ready?" she asked, and he gave a nod.

Swinging open the gate, Riley stepped into the sunlight for the first time in a week.


End file.
